Textile apparatus



Sept. 29, 1970 w. PARKER 3,530,659

TEXTILE APPARATUS Filed Jan. 22, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 1.

A V T9 19 /28 14 @z r o 26 16 3'1 P 29,1970 I W.PARKYER 3,530,659

TEXTILE APPARATUS Filed Jan. 22, 1969 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 01 lice 3,530,659 Patented Sept. 29, 1970 US. Cl. 57-105 26 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A false twisting unit having roller means mounted on a support for supporting a false twist spindle, a motor mounted on said support and motion transmitting means connecting the motor and said roller means which in turn drive the false twister.

This invention relates to driving and supporting arrangements for false twist spindles.

The invention comprises a driving and supporting arrangement for a false twist spindle comprising a support adapted for attachment to a false twist crimping machine frame, said support carrying a motor, driving and supporting roller means for the spindle, and a driving transmission between the motor and the driving roller means.

A preferred motor is a magnetic reluctance motor which should be capable of synchronous speeds of up to 12,000 revolutions per minute.

The driving transmission may give a speed ratio between the false twist spindle and the motor of approximately 100:1, and may comprise a belt engaging a pulley of the motor and engaging a wharf of a spindle driving roller. The speed ratio between the said driving roller and the motor pulley may be about 5:1 and that between the false twist spindle and the driving roller about 2021.

The driving and supporting roller means may have magnetic means retaining the spindle in contact with a driving roller thereof. The arrangement may comprise driving and/or supporting rollers for the spindle on two parallel axes, and the driving transmission may then be adapted so that the roller or rollers of either axis can be drivingly connected to the motor The support may have driving and supporting roller means for two false twist spindles, and both may be driven by the same motor. The two spindles preferably have separate driving and supporting roller means, and these and the driving transmission may be adapted for rotating the two false twist spindles in the same direction of rotation, or for rotating said spindles in opposite directions of rotation.

The roller means may comprise, for each false twist spindle, rollers on two parallel axes, the rollers on each axis having a wharf, either one of the wharves of each roller means being connectable to the motor by a single belt, which can be trained to follow different paths to drive the spindles in the desired direction of rotation. The support may have an idler roller to enable the belt to be trained to follow its said different paths. The motor may be adjustably mounted to enable the belt to be tensioned.

The support may comprise a mounting plate for the motor and for the roller means, the motor pulley and a wharf or wharves of the driving roller means projecting on one side of said plate, and the motor and the false twist spindle or spindles and the driving and/or supporting rollers therefor projecting on the other side of said plate. The driving transmission may be enclosed in a casing, which may surround the motor pulley and the wharves of the rollers. The casing may comprise rubber or other sound absorbing material.

The invention also comprises a frame and a plurality of said driving and supporting arrangements attached thereto, and power supply means for the motors thereof, which may include a frequency changer enabling the speed of rotation of the false twist spindles to be adjusted.

The driving and supporting arrangements may be so mounted that the false twist spindles are inclined to the vertical, the machine having yarn guide means guiding the yarn in inclined paths towards the false twist spindles.

One embodiment of a driving and supporting arrangement according to the invention and of a false twist crimping machine embodying the same will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan of the arrangement,

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan,

FIG. 3 is an elevation of the embodiment in FIGS. 1 and 2, and

FIG. 4 is an elevation of part of a false twist crimping machine.

The drawings illustrate a driving and supporting arrangement for a pair of false twist spindles, 11, 12, comprising a support 13, adapted by lugs 14 for attachment to a machine frame, The support 13 carries a magnetic reluctance motor 15, rollers 16, 17, 18, 19 for driving and supporting the spindles 11, 12, and permanent magnets 21, 22 for holding the spindles 11, 12 respectively in contact with the rollers 16, 17, 18 and 19 as well as a driving transmission, hereinafter described, between the motor and the rollers.

It will be seen that each false twist spindle is supported by a set of rollers separate from the set of rollers supporting the other spindle. In other words, no one roller contacts both spindles.

Each set of rollers comprises rollers (each roller comprising two discs axially spaced apart) on two parallel axes, the spindle being held magnetically in the nip of the rollers. If the spindle 11 is required to be driven anticlockwise as seen in FIG. 1, it is desirable for stability in high speed operation that the roller 16 should be driven, to drive the spindle 11 into the nip, while the roller 17 is an idler, driven by the spindle 11. If the roller 12 is desired to be driven clockwise as seen in FIG. 1 it is for the same reason desirable that the roller 18 should be driven while the roller 19 is an idler. The driving transmission illustrated can be adapted to drive both spindles in the same direction of rotation (in either direction) or in opposite directions of rotation, and comprises a belt 23, engaging a pulley 24 of the motor 15 and a wharf of each of the driving rollers. The rollers 16, 17, 18, 19 each have a wharf, 16', 17, 18, 19' and there is provided an idler roller 25 so positioned that the belt 15 can be trained either in the manner shown in full lines in FIG. 2, in which wharves 18 and 16 are driven in opposite directions of rotation and, when the pulley 24 rotates in the direction of the arrow, the spindles 11, 12 are each driven into the nip of their supporting rollers in opposite directions, or in the manner shown in dashed lines in the same figure in which the wharves 18 and 17 are driven in the same direction so that the spindles 11, 12 are now driven in the same direction of rotation, but again both into the nip of their supporting rollers. Of course, the pulley 24 may be driven in the direction opposite to that shown by the arrow, and then the belt would have to be trained in mirror-image fashion to that shown. It is possible, if the dimensions and configuration of the arrangement and the amount of belttensioning adjustment are suitably chosen, to use the same belt for each of the belt runs illustrated, but two belts of different sizes can be provided if this leads to other advantages in the configuration.

Belt tensioning can be by a conventional spring-loaded jockey pulley, but is most easily afforded by providing an adjustable mounting for the motor 15. As shown in FIG. 1 the motor 15 is mounted by nuts and bolts passing through three lugs 15' in the motor casing and slots in the support so that adjustment of the motor 15 towards and away from the rollers 16, 17, etc., is possible.

The support 13 comprises a mounting plate 26 in which the slots referred to above are formed and which holds bearings 27 for the rollers 16, 17, etc. The motor 15 and rollers 16, 17, etc., project on one side of the plate 26, while the pulley 24, the wharves 16, 17 and the idler 25 project on the other side. A casing 28 cast integrally with the plate 26 depends therefrom to enclose the driving transmission. The casing is provided with a closure plate 29 secured by screws engaging in tapped bores in the casing, as shown in FIG. 3. To guide the yarn through the casing (as the spindles 11, 12 lie within the sides of the casing in plan view) guiding tubes 31 fitted with ceramic eyes at each end pass through the casing in line with the spindles 11, 12. These eliminate any risk of the yarns tangling with the drive, and additionally shield the drive from any fumes carried by the moving air surrounding the yarn which might contaminate the belt 23 and lead to slipping in the drive so that the spindles do not attain their full speed.

This construction of false twist spindle driving and supporting arrangement has many advantages over those currently in use, which do not have individual motors, but derive their rotation from a driving belt extending all round a false twist crimping machine and driven by a large motor situated at one end. Necessarily, with the prior art arrangement, the wharves could not be enclosed and the belt could become contaminated with oil so that slipping could occur. Moreover it was necessary to provide an adjustable mounting for a double-spindle arrangement, or to provide single spindle arrangements, in order to provide the S and Z twist or both S or both Z twist facility, which is avoided by this construction. It is possible to manufacture the arrangement as a plug-in unit so that in the event of motor failure or some other failure, the unit can be taken out for repairs and another unit substituted. The other units in the machine are unaffected during such operation, whereas hitherto, motor failure would mean shutting down the whole machine.

It is possible to arrange that the spindles are stopped in the event of yarn failure by connecting the electric supply to the motor into the yarn failure detection system.

The unit can be mounted on the machine by an antivibration mounting, and the casing can be made soundthe frame to the spindle, giving smoother and quieter running at speed.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the units 41 can be mounted on the machine frame 42 so that the spindles '43 are inclined to the vertical, so that a straight threadline can be obtained even with an inclined heater 44.

A reluctance motor taking about 180 watts of power is capable of driving two spindles at speeds of 1 million revolutions per minute or higher. With a step-up ratio of about 20:1 between the rollers 16, 17, etc., and the spindles 11, 12, and a step-up ratio of about 5:1 between the pulley 24 and the wharves 16', 17', etc., this requires a motor speed of about 10,000 revolutions per minute. The starting characteristics of a reluctance motor are ideal for this use, and it is capable of maintaining a given synchronous speed despite quite wide variations in the power demanded to drive the spindles. The power consumption per spindle is less than with the present arrangement in which a belt drive common to all the spindles is driven from a single large motor.

A frequency changer is provided in a common power supply to all the motors of a multistation false twist crimping machine so that they can all be driven at the same speed which can be adjusted. Reversing switches can be fitted individually to the motors, or in the common power supply.

What I claim is: I

1. A false twisting unit for use in false twist crimping machines, comprising support means; at least one false twist spindle; roller means carried by said support means for supporting said false twist spindle in predetermined position relative thereto, and for driving it in rotation; electric motor means mounted on said support means; motion-transmitting means cooperating with said motor means and roller means for rotating the latter and thereby driving said false twist spindle in rotation; and connecting means on said support means for detachably connecting said unit to a false twist crimping machine.

2. A false twisting unit as defined in claim 1, wherein said motor means comprises at least one magnetic re luctance motor.

3. A false twisting unit as defined in claim 1, wherein said roller means comprises at least two rollers.

4. A false twisting unit as defined in claim 1, wherein said roller means comprises at least two pairs of rollers; and further comprising at least one additional false twist spindle with each of said false twist spindles being supported and driven in rotation by a respective pair of rollers.

5. A unit according to claim 4, wherein the roller means are so mounted that the false twist spindles are inclined to the vertical, and the machine has yarn guide means guiding the yarn in inclined paths towards the false twist spindles.

6. A false twisting unit as defined in claim 1, wherein said motor means is operative for achieving synchronous speeds up to the order of 12,000 revolutions per minute.

7. A false twisting unit as defined in claim 1, said motion-transmitting means being operative for rotating said roller means at a rotary speed which is higher than that of said motor means by a ratio of substantially 100:1.

8. A false twisting unit as defined in claim 1, said motion-transmitting means comprising an output shaft on said motor means, a pulley on said output shaft, a wharf provided on said roller means, and a belt trained about said pulley and contacting said wharf for rotating the latter in response to rotation of the former.

9. A false twisting unit as defined in claim 8, said motion-transmitting means being constructed and arranged so that said wharf rotates at a speed which is higher than that of said pulley by a ratio of substantially 5:1.

10. A false twisting unit as defined in claim 1, said motion-transmitting means comprising at least two rollers one of which is driven at a predetermined rotary speed; and wherein said false twist spindle is driven by said roller means at a speed of rotation which is higher than said predetermined speed by a ratio of substantially 20:1.

11. A false twisting unit as defined in claim 3, wherein said rollers are mounted for rotation about respective parallel axes.

12. A false twisting unit as defined in claim 1, said roller means comprising at least two rollers one of which is an idler roller and the other of which is a driven roller; and said motion-transmitting means being operative for effecting driving of either one of said rollers at the will of an operator.

13. A false twisting unit as defined in claim 4, said motor means comprising a single electric motor, and said motion-transmitting means cooperating with said single electric motor and with both of said pairs of rollers.

14. A false twisting unit as defined in claim 4, said motion-transmitting means being operative for rotating the respective pairs of rollers in a sense effecting rotation of both of said spindles in the same direction.

15. A false twisting unit as defined in claim 4, said motion-transmitting means being operative for rotating the respective rollers in a sense effecting rotation of said spindles in mutually opposite directions.

16. A false twisting unit as defined in claim 4, said motion-transmitting means being operative for rotating the respective rollers in a sense elfecting rotation of said spindles in identical or in mutually opposite directions of rotation, at the will of an operator.

17. A false twisting unit as defined in claim 16, said motion-transmitting means including a rotatable output shaft of said motor means, a pulley on said output shaft, a wharf on each of said rollers, a drive belt trained about said pulley and engageable with the wharf on one roller of each of said pairs; and further comprising at least one idler roller on said support means for enabling training of said belt to follow different paths in dependence upon the desired direction of rotation of said false twisting spindles.

18. A false twisting unit as defined in claim 1, said motion-transmitting means comprising belt drive means for transmitting motion from said motor means to said roller means and including a drive belt; and belt tensioning means on said support means for tensioning said belt.

19. A false twisting unit as defined in claim 1, said motion-transmitting means comprising belt drive means for transmitting motion from said motor means to said roller means and including a drive belt; and mounting means mounting said motor means on said support means for positional adjustment with reference to the latter so as to permit tensioning of said drive belt.

20. A false twisting unit as defined in claim 1, said support means comprising a mounting plate carried thereby and having two sides; and wherein said motor means, said spindle and said roller means project at one of said sides, and said motor means includes a pulley and said roller means includes at least one wharf which project at the other of said sides.

21. A false twisting unit as defined in claim 1; and further comprising casing means enclosing at least said motion-transmitting means.

22. A false twisting unit as defined in claim 21, said motor means including a pulley and said roller means including at least one wharf; and wherein said casing also enclosed said pulley and said wharf.

23. A false twisting unit as defined in claim 21, said casing means consisting at least in part of sound-retarding material.

24. A false twisting unit as defined in claim 1; and further comprising power supply means for supplying electrical energy to said motor means.

25. A unit according to claim 1, wherein the roller means have magnetic means retaining the spindle in contact with a driving roller thereof.

26. A unit according to claim 24, wherein said power supply means include a frequency changer enabling the speed of rotation of the false twist spindle to be adjusted.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,040,511 6/ 1962 Gilcrist et al. 5777.45 3,369,356 2/1968 Mattingly 5777.45 3,385,047 5/1968 Schwabe 57104 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 998,091 7/ 1965 Great Britain. 1,001,230 8/1965 Great Britain. 1,023,951 3/ 1966 Great Britain.

DONALD E. WATKINS, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 5777.45 

